Sighing, Eva hastily got dressed. She had to speak to him again. Her mind had cleared off somewhat after her bath, so she might be able to think of a persuasive reason to convince him to let her go. There was no harm trying her luck, after all.

When she reached the living room, Gage was still there, but he was dressed now. Thank god! His ridiculously perfect body was truly distracting!

Though…looking at him now, she ended up pinching the skin between her brows because he still managed to look as distracting as before. Shirtless or not! Damn this man!

Prepared to immediately speak as soon as she reached him, Eva opened her mouth, but her stomach decided to 'speak up’ first.

Silence reigned. Then, her stomach gave out another loud growl that could not be ignored.

She felt her ears redden with embarrassment. But as she was about to speak to cover the rumbling sounds of her stomach, she was shocked at the sight of him suddenly appearing right before her and squatting down.

Her eyes went as wide as saucers as she looked down at him, wondering what he was up to this time. Before she could say anything, he was placing a pair of white slippers in front of her bare feet.

Her lips gaped open; she hadn't expected this action from him at all. He looked up, looking so absolutely handsome that she had to catch her breath.

“Wear these,” he said simply. Eva just blinked at that pair of white house slippers. She was dumbstruck.

What…what was he doing? Didn't he asked her to stay as the replacement for his maid? Why was he…

“Anything wrong?” His voice nearly jolted her out of her skin. She snapped out of her daze, clearing her throat before attempting to speak.

“N-nothing,” she replied, averting her gaze from him as she hastily slid her cold feet into the warm, fluffy slippers. She sighed out softly at how warm and toasty her feet felt in them. Inwardly, she was shaking her head hard, as if to ward off some silly thoughts.

“Alright, come along with me, pet.” He started walking, and Eva followed obediently behind him for now, trying to regain her lost composure. When she realized that he was leading her to the kitchen, she took a deep breath. Something popped into her mind. Alright, this was her chance. He was definitely going to ask her to cook! She remembered how everyone had reacted when she had tried to cook before. She could still remember the horror on everyone’s face upon tasting her food. If this sly devil tasted her food, he would definitely throw her out, right? That was for sure!

'Let's do it,' she thought to herself while clenching her fists tightly behind him.

…

Moments later, in the kitchen…

Eva was sitting silently, drinking and suspiciously observing the man cooking over the rim of her glass. When they had entered the kitchen, the devil had not actually asked her to cook. Surprisingly, instead, he had even pulled out a chair for her and made her sit and watch.

When she attempted to stand up and offer him some help, he ordered her to stay still and wait. This caused Eva to just sit there, looking utterly confused and speechless.

She pinched the skin between her brows again, feeling as though she was going to have another pounding headache. I just cannot understand what is with this man and what is going on around here anymore.

No matter how much she thought about it, there was no way she could come up with any logical reason why he was behaving this way. She could not help but feel even more suspicious now!

Sooner than she expected, he was done cooking, and a fragrant and steaming bowl of soup was placed before her. Eva salivated at the sight of the delicious food. She swallowed before her saliva could drool out of her mouth.

When she lifted her eyes, he was sitting across from her, smiling.

“Go on, dig in. This will be good for your hangover.” He said, resting his temple against his knuckles as if preparing to watch something good. “You watched me like you were trying to solve an intricate puzzle the entire time I was cooking. I’m sure you would have seen it if I put something weird in there.”

Eva cleared her throat before unceremoniously grabbing the utensils, narrowing her eyes a little at him. She scooped up a spoonful of soup, blowing on it to cool it a little before sipping it, allowing it to coat her tongue before swallowing it. And...wow! She felt her shoulder relax just at the taste of it.

“How is it?” He asked, looking so dazzling that Eva almost choked on her second mouthful.

“It’s good,” was all she could say. Damn you! How could you cook so well, too? This is bad. I am hungry and this is probably the most delicious chicken noodle soup I have ever tasted! She screamed in her mind. It was warm, with just the right hints of saltiness from the seasonings and sweetness from the root vegetables. The flavours were so simple, yet, at the same time, so complex.

He just smiled as he watched her devour and enjoy the soup to the point that she seemed to forget all about his existence before her.

Then, he pushed a plate of French toast in front of her.

Eva was finally jolted out of her soup-tasting heaven and stopped drinking before looking up at him. Her eyes narrowed with obvious suspicion, and she said, “You’re not actually a male witch in disguise planning to fatten me up before eating me, are you?”